1. In addition to taking measures pursuant to article 6 of this Protocol, each State Party shall
consider adopting legislative or other appropriate measures that permit victims of trafficking in
persons to remain in its territory, temporarily or permanently, in appropriate cases.
Protocol Annotation: The immigration status of trafficked persons must be addressed in a
manner that ensures safety, provides time for recovery and reflection, and encourages
cooperation with law enforcement. This section recognizes the need for legal immigration status but it does not actually require governments to do anything. It merely states that
governments ‘shall consider’ temporary or permanent residence ‘in appropriate cases.’
Governments need to understand that trafficked persons who face immediate deportation or
arrest will not report crimes or cooperate with investigations and NGOs will be unlikely to
urge their clients to contact law enforcement.
Several governments have already recognized that it is always ‘appropriate’ to provide a
short-term residence of 45-60 days to provide trafficked persons with time to begin physical
and psychological recovery, to decide whether it is safe to cooperate with law enforcement,
and to learn their rights and options. Some governments have also recognized it is
‘appropriate’ to provide longer temporary residence to trafficked persons who cooperate with
the investigation or who are in danger due to threats of retaliation. In the latter situation, it
would be appropriate to provide permanent residence if the threats continue.